CELPIP vs TEF Canada: Which Test You Need, and What Taking Both Adds

CELPIP and TEF Canada test different languages

The most common question behind this search is "can I take TEF Canada instead of CELPIP?" The answer depends only on which language you want IRCC to score as your first official language. CELPIP General is an English test run by Paragon Testing Enterprises. TEF Canada is a French test run by the Paris Ile-de-France Chamber of Commerce. Express Entry scores one language as your first official language and the other, if you test it, as your second. You can never use a French result to prove English, or the reverse.

IRCC accepts three English tests (CELPIP General, IELTS General Training, PTE Core) and two French tests (TEF Canada, TCF Canada). If you are still choosing among the English three, that decision lives on our best English test for Canada PR page, with the pairwise detail in CELPIP vs IELTS and CELPIP vs PTE Core. This page is about what happens when you put an English result and a French result in the same profile.

One naming point that trips people up: CLB (Canadian Language Benchmarks) is the English scale and NCLC (Niveaux de competence linguistique canadiens) is its French twin. CELPIP levels equal CLB levels directly. TEF Canada scores are converted to NCLC with IRCC's chart, which is further down this page.

How many CRS points French adds when English is your first language

Your English result earns first-language points: up to 34 per skill without a spouse, 136 in total, with the per-level values explained in our CELPIP score for Canada PR guide. French then adds points in two separate places on the grid, and both are decided skill by skill.

Second official language points

The 25-point and 50-point French bonus

IRCC's grid awards additional points for French on one condition about French and one about English. You need NCLC 7 or higher in all four French skills. If your English is CLB 4 or lower in any skill, or you took no English test, the bonus is 25 points. If your English is CLB 5 or higher in all four skills, the bonus is 50 points. Every skill counts on its own, so one French skill at NCLC 6 drops the bonus to zero even if the other three are NCLC 9.

Three worked examples (single applicant)

That is where the "up to 74 points" figure comes from: 24 second-language points plus the 50-point bonus. For a candidate sitting a few points under recent general cutoffs, French at NCLC 7 is the single largest gain available now that job offer points were removed in March 2025. Use the CELPIP score calculator to see what each of your English levels is worth first, then decide whether the French investment makes sense.

TEF Canada score to NCLC chart

Your TEF Canada attestation prints two scales. IRCC asks for the "Equivalence ancien score" (old score equivalence) column, out of 300 for reading, 360 for listening and 450 for writing and speaking, and warns that entering the wrong column can lead to a refusal. The chart below is IRCC's, as published on the Express Entry language test results page.

So NCLC 7, the level the bonus and the French category both require, means at least 207 in reading, 249 in listening, and 310 in both writing and speaking. If you took TEF Canada between December 11, 2023 and May 6, 2024, IRCC notes that corrected scores were issued for that period and your profile must show the corrected figures.

The French-language proficiency category

Since 2023 IRCC has run category-based Express Entry draws alongside the general ones. The French-language proficiency category requires a minimum of NCLC 7 in all four French abilities plus eligibility for one of the three Express Entry programs. There is no separate French bonus for the category; it simply means you can be invited in draws where the cutoff is far lower than a general draw.

In 2026 those cutoffs have run between 391 and 419, with draws of 4,000 to 8,500 invitations at a time, and the immigration levels plan sets a francophone target outside Quebec of 9 percent of admissions in 2026 rising to 10.5 percent in 2028. IRCC can change categories and cutoffs at any time, so treat the numbers as the current picture rather than a promise, and check the category page linked in the sources before you plan around it.

If French is your first language

Take TEF Canada or TCF Canada as your first official language test; it earns the same first-language points as an English test, up to 136 without a spouse. Program eligibility is checked on this result, so Federal Skilled Worker needs NCLC 7 in all four skills and Canadian Experience Class needs NCLC 7 or 5 depending on the job's TEER level.

CELPIP then becomes your second-language test, worth up to 24 points, and it still unlocks the 50-point French bonus because the bonus only checks that your French is NCLC 7 in all four skills and your English is CLB 5 in all four. A French-first candidate at NCLC 9 across the board with CELPIP 7 in every skill lands on 124 plus 12 plus 50, the same 186 as the English-first example above.

TEF Canada vs TCF Canada, and the Quebec exception

Both French tests are accepted by IRCC and both map to the same NCLC levels, so the choice is about format and availability rather than points. Neither is officially easier.

Quebec runs its own skilled worker selection outside Express Entry. Its program accepts TEF Canada, TCF Canada, TEFAQ, TCF Quebec and the DELF and DALF diplomas, again with results under two years old. The TEF IRN, a different TEF variant, is not valid for either federal or Quebec immigration. There is also a two-module TEF Canada (listening and speaking only) for citizenship, the French counterpart of CELPIP General LS; it does not work for Express Entry.

Which order to take them in

1. 1Book your first-language test first. Program eligibility, the biggest block of language points and your category options all depend on it.
2. 2Add the second language once your first result is at least CLB or NCLC 7. Below that, fix the first language before spending on a second test.
3. 3Watch the two-year clock. Both results must be under two years old when you complete your profile and again when you submit the PR application. If one result is much older than the other, plan a retake before it expires.
4. 4Allow for results time. CELPIP posts scores in 2 to 4 business days; TEF Canada takes 1 to 10 business days from CCI Paris, and centres sometimes quote up to 15.
5. 5Aim for NCLC 7 in every French skill, not an average. One weak skill removes the bonus and the category in one go.

How to prepare for CELPIP while you study French

Most people in this situation are protecting an English score they already have while building French from a lower base. Keep the English side efficient: a full-length CELPIP General mock test every few weeks under real timing tells you whether each skill is still at target, and Writing practice and Speaking practice with AI feedback keep the two rated skills from slipping. If you are new to the test, our best CELPIP practice tests guide explains what a realistic mock has to include. We do not offer TEF or TCF preparation.